1. الحمدُ لله الذي أعلما

    بأنه الله الذي في السما

    Praise be to God, who made known

    that He is God, who is in heaven,

  2. وأنه في الأرض سبحانه

    على الذي قال لنا معلما

    and that He is on earth—glory be to Him—

    for what He told us, instructing us,

  3. بأنه يعلم أسرارَنا

    وجهرنا والمكسب الأعظما

    that He knows our secrets,

    and our open speech, and the greatest gain.

  4. ثم له من قبل إيجادنا

    اينية أثبتها في العمى

    Then, before bringing us into being, He had

    a 'where' He affirmed in the cloud.

  5. وشاب لي أرباً بسرِّي إذا

    كان معي في حالتي أينما

    And He mingled a longing for me with my secret, when

    He was with me in my state, wherever I was.

  6. فيأخذ المغرور ما قاله

    بأنه بشرى بما أنعما

    So the deluded one takes what He said

    as glad tidings of the favors He bestowed.

  7. والحذر النحرير يدري الذي

    جاء به مُحذِّراً منعما

    But the wary adept understands what

    He brought, warning and bestowing grace.

  8. وإنه سبحانه بالذي

    قال لنا أوضح ما أبهما

    And He—glory be to Him—through what

    He told us, clarified what He had obscured.

  9. بعين هذا وبأمثاله

    يسعد من آمن إنْ أسلما

    Through this very thing and others like it,

    whoever believes finds felicity, if he submits.

  10. لا تعذلوه بالذي لم يزل

    خلقاً لكم أو لم يزل في عما

    Do not reproach him for what has always been

    a created thing for you, or has always been in blindness,

  11. كمثلِ فرعونَ وأشباهه

    وما نحتم فاحذروا منهما

    like Pharaoh and his kind,

    and what you carved—so beware of both.

  12. إذا كانت الأعراف تعطى عوارفاً

    فإن السليم الشمّ لينشق العرفَا

    When the heights bestow favors,

    then one whose sense of smell is sound will surely inhale the fragrance.

  13. ولا يقبل الرحمن منه إذا أتى

    قبول الذي قد شمَّ عدلاً ولا صرفا

    Nor does the All-Merciful accept from him, when he comes,

    any ransom or recompense, as from one who has smelled it.

  14. وإن جاءه الإقبال من كلِّ جانب

    ولم يقبل الرحمن لم يكن إلاَّ حفى

    And even if good fortune comes to him from every side,

    if the All-Merciful does not accept him, he is only footsore.

  15. وإياك واستدراجه في عباده

    فإنَّ لمكر الله في خلقه عُرفا

    And beware of His gradual enticement among His servants,

    for God's stratagem among His creatures has a scent.

  16. يراه الذي ما زال فيهم مقدَّماً

    فيعز له حكماً ليشربه صِرفا

    The one always foremost among them sees it,

    so its rule becomes mighty for him, that he may drink it unmixed.